Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Review (ANAFRANIL!!!)
Never have I felt the need to write a genuine review on anything at all in my entire life. I find the critique of personal projects just cruel, and uncalled for. Ever since I pushed myself to create, whether it be art or music, I realized it takes so much heart, suffering, and willpower to gather everything to make your dream project come true. It's the unfortunate truth in any type of media we indulge in, more so in independent media where the sky is the limit, but it can be so destructive to the creator. The ability to apply any type of personal issues on something that may never see the light of day is horrible.
I was shown the first game by a friend a while back. I was taken aback by how painstakingly accurate it was to trips I’d have to take, whether it be to gas stations, grocery stores, parks, etc. Psychotic illnesses have ailed me for as long as I can remember but the feeling of being understood is still a hard concept to grasp for me. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It felt so. Real. It takes such specific audio design, such specific visualization for me to be engaged in anything. The first game nailed intrusions and feelings of confusion so well that, I felt understood. I immediately bought the sequel out of disbelief that something like this could be made and out of respect for the creator(s).
The intro, the music. I immediately felt a sense of, strange comfort. Anyone could clearly see that, the vision of the original had been completely realized and pushed to its maximum potential. It was incredible, the intro sequence was such a beautiful recap of the previous game. Being able to see the events of the first game in such clarity and with such beautiful art/animation was a such nice thing to see. A huge guess, but it gave me such a warm feeling to see that the unexpected blast of attention the game got, pushed this game to be something so much bigger and ambitious.
As for the rest of the game, it gave me the same shock of the first game, but to such a greater extent. I feel this may be more on how much I connected with it. Being so non-content with how life is, overthinking the fact that these illnesses will never go away, and the fact you’ll never be able to function properly in the world with the most average everyday activities. So many thoughts and delusions that would always lead to me feeling pathetic, otherworldly, and simply an annoyance to whatever my head decided to think or be that day. I still feel overwhelmed and can’t find the words of the feelings I got after playing. No piece of media has made me feel so understood and oddly content(?) with how I am.
Huge thanks to Nikitia Kryukov and especially thanks to everyone else who helped on the project. It's given me a push to keep on going with myself and my projects. This game will forever hold a special place in my heart.